


An Open Door

by rayeliann



Series: A Small Fire in a Dark World [4]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Envy demon, F/M, Gen, Haven, Nightmares, Trouble Sleeping, aftermath of Therinfal, dai spoilers, death cw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-29
Updated: 2015-03-29
Packaged: 2018-03-20 07:14:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3641424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rayeliann/pseuds/rayeliann
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>exploring Hadynne's (a life-long Circle Mage) reactions to the Envy demon at Therinfal.  </p><p>I spend a lot of time worrying about the gaps in Chantry-approved knowledge, and I can't stop thinking about how deeply "Champions of the Just" would have affected Hadynne.  The Circle teaches resisting a demon as the only defense - don't let it in and you will be fine. But at Therinfal the demon specifically said it didn't need permission. </p><p>soo yeah, just generally exploring Hadynne's reactions and those of her advisors.  Some vague Cullen pre-romance but only barely.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Open Door

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [She's cold but it isn't the snow...](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3293294) by [rayeliann](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rayeliann/pseuds/rayeliann). 



“Shall we wake her?”

“Oh, let her sleep. She’s been looking a bit ragged since she returned from Therinfal.”

“Can you blame her? The stories I’ve heard…”

“Varric mentioned she hadn't been sleeping well. Wandering about at all hours…”

The leaders of the newly-declared Inquisition had retired to a more comfortable room within Haven’s Chantry, a room with a homey air to it that had accumulated a few stray and mismatched items of furniture around a sorry-looking fireplace. But, it was private and quiet and they did not have to worry about that infernal map staring them down as they spoke. On more than one occasion, the Herald had expressed the desire to turn the heavy map-markers into projectiles. 

Hadynne Trevelyan, the woman the masses had dubbed as the “Herald of Andraste” was small for a human woman, soft and delicate. More than a few villagers in the Hinterlands had clearly been disappointed upon seeing her for the first time. While Hadynne had the aura of a well-bred noble lady, they had been expecting a woman a bit more like the 8 foot tall, stone-faced, fierce Andraste they had become accustomed to seeing in their Chantry. But there was something hard and certain about Hadynne. She did not shirk her duties, and closed rifts all across the region promptly and without fuss. People were starting to take notice. 

The Herald of Andraste had fallen asleep on the small couch (that could hardly pass as a duvet) while Josephine had been reading over recent notable correspondences. Her unruly auburn hair had come loose from its pins, strands trailing down her neck and framing her pretty face. One such strand even quivered, carried on her breath as her sleeping breathing came slow and regular. She had tucked her small frame into the corner of the couch, but had relaxed into a rather graceful sprawl. Her head lolled to one side, and in a gentle curve, her long neck led to the small triangle of white flesh that was exposed by the loosened top two buttons at her collar.

Cassandra had been pacing in front of the fire, her heavy boots seemingly keeping time as Josephine had read aloud. Leliana grinned from where she perched on the edge of an up-turned barrel, her feet swinging free, one at a time, dangling above the floor. Somehow, both Leliana and Cassandra seemed to have fallen into time with Hadynne’s soft breathing. It was almost as if they had synchronized themselves to each other.

Cullen had joined the women, crowded into the opposite corner of the couch and decidedly taking up as little space as he could manage. He had a stack of his own reports in his lap, and would freely admit that Josephine’s updates on the affairs of nobles held little interest to him. An astute observer -perhaps even a spymaster- would note that the Commander occasionally looked up from his reading to do a quick check of his companions, his brown-gold gaze flicking over each in turn. 

Hadynne shifted ever so slightly as Josephine tossed a letter into the fireplace with a few choice words in Antivan. Josephine made a clever little remark that messenger birds were known to be a bit unreliable, and if Lady Belyse inquired, they would claim not to have received the letter. It would be terribly embarrassing for that lady if they had, as it was clearly written quickly, in the heat of the moment, and without much thought.

As Leliana and Cassandra chuckled appreciatively over Josephine’s expert handling of irate nobility, Hadynne stirred again. Her countenance had clouded over, and her sleep had clearly become troubled. Cullen’s appraising gaze stuck on her for a few moments longer than the rest before finally returning to his reports. Josephine resumed her reading soon after. Each of them markedly ignoring the Herald’s now fitful sleep.

Hadynne’s hand curled, the mark on her hand flaring as she began to mumble indistinguishably in her sleep.

“Leliana, have you heard from your scouts out along the Storm Coast yet?” Cassandra inquired as Josephine went silent, her eyes soft as she regarded Hadynne’s sleeping form. The ambassador had a kind, gentle heart and she could not ignore Hadynne’s twitching and worried mumbling. Her eyebrows rose, creeping together in worry as she regarded the sleeping Herald with a look of sympathy and concern.

“Mmmm not yet. Harding is good, but I doubt they’ve even arrived yet. I will give them another day or two before I start to worry.”

“Cullen!” Hadynne shouted, half gasping as she sat up, her eye-lids snapping open. Her hair was frazzled, and her eyes wildly darted about, taking in her surroundings. 

At the sound of his name, the Commander had started violently, his paperwork scattering onto the floor. He leaned toward the Herald, his face feeling hot with a blush as the others drew close. Josephine had reacted the quickest, falling to her knees at Hadynne’s side.

“I… what…?” Hadynne stumbled over her words, her cheeks pinking ever so slightly when she realized they were all staring at her.

“I apologize. I …ahem… I must have dozed off.” Hadynne supplied as she busied herself with smoothing the folds of her skirt over her knees.

“My Lady, if you are having trouble sleeping, might I suggest-” Josephine began tactfully. Surely she was about to recommend visiting Adan and getting him to administer a sleeping draught or strenuous exercise or calming meditation. Hadynne had tried all of those approaches in the past days. She rose abruptly, cutting off the Ambassador’s friendly suggestion.

“I’ll just… I’ll retire now, thank you Lady Montilyet.” Hadynne declared as she swept from the room in a hasty retreat.

“It crawled inside her, uninvited, unwanted. They taught her she would be safe if she just kept them out. She’s been closed, quiet, calm for years. Don’t let them in. Don’t give it an inch. And it just crawled inside her.” A soft voice came from the shadows, and the curious boy that had accompanied Hadynne back from Therinfal stepped into the light. Pale blue eyes glittered under a large, floppy hat and a mop of pale, silvery hair.

“It cut your throat. Dead. You slid to the floor and she stood there helpless. Standing. Staring. Screaming. But it was a trick. It was playing with her, gauging her reactions and she crushed them down. Quick and clever. She found you behind bars then. Strong, stubborn, solid. It knew she would not believe you had broken.” The boy Hadynne had called Cole explained as he advanced, his eyes set on Cullen. With the quick quirk of his head, his haunting gaze fell to Josephine.

“You were there too. Behind bars pleading, still believing still hoping that she…that she was in there somewhere. That it was all a mistake. If I could just talk to the Herald…”

“It’s hard for her to sleep. She worries. What if I left a door open? Demons are tricky, what if this is part of the trick? Will I wake? When will I wake? Wake up wake up wake up.” 

As the ghostly boy spoke, Cassandra crossed her arms across her chest, frowning unhappily. She had sidled up to where Josephine was still sitting on the floor, her eyes looking watery as she hung on every one of Cole’s words, her heart breaking. 

It was Cullen who had been stirred to action, rising and letting the remainder of his reports flutter to the floor on top of the rest. He stepped over the pile of papers in one long stride, heading for the door.

“I’ll just check on the Herald then. Make sure all is in order. Perhaps if I ask Lysette to stand guard she will feel more comfortable sleeping. Thank you er….” Cullen let his words trail off as he looked about the room. The strange boy had already disappeared, and the others looked at him in confusion. It was almost as if they had forgotten who he’d been talking to.

“Yes. Well.” Cullen grumbled, pressing his hand to the back of his neck. His head was throbbing now in a headache that had come on with no warning, the edges of his vision blurring. At this point, even blinking hurt.

“Did you see his face when she shouted out his name?” Leliana asked after a long moment of silence to be sure Cullen had gone. Cassandra chuckled in response, shaking her head ever so slightly. 

“Well it is not as if beautiful women go about shouting out his name in their sleep everyday.” Leliana remarked, clearly amused. “I will keep an eye on it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Possibly in progress? 
> 
> I would like to take it further, but I am still relatively new at writing and I've never done anything chaptered before.


End file.
